Having bad credit can feel like a giant curse that is ruining your whole life. It keeps you from buying the things you need, living where you want to live and it can even keep you from getting the job you want. But what if it didn’t have to? Bad credit, after all, is a temporary problem. With work you can improve your credit score and history and there are plenty of programs out there to help you do exactly that. Here are seven of them:
1. Crest Financial
CrestFinancial is basically a third party lender. The company acts as a middle-man financier of purchases like furniture and other goods when your own credit isn’t enough to help you fund the purchase yourself (or if the store from which you are buying doesn’t offer store credit).
Unlike many store-credit programs, however, Crest Financial reports your positive repayment history to the credit bureaus, so that as you work to pay off your purchase, those payments also help you rebuild your credit score.
2. Operation Hope
Operation Hope is a program to help low income and individuals with bad credit become homeowners, without subjecting them to the predatory practices of sub-prime lenders. Operation Hope works with the FHA and offers down payment assistance, and helps borrowers get loans from FDIC-insured lenders.
Owning a home helps you build equity and, paying your mortgage on time every month will be a tremendous boost to your credit score and history as mortgage payments are often weighed heavier on a report than a credit card payment.
3. Road Loans
Road Loans is a bad credit auto financier recommended by Edmunds.com. This program helps people with bad credit secure the funding they need to buy a new car instead of something used that might require many expensive repairs. Edmunds says that Road Loans is a viable alternative to the “buy here pay here” programs which often pair people with used cars that are less reliable than newer models. In addition, Road Loans reports your payment history to credit bureaus, something that many “buy here pay here” lots do not.
4. PeerForm
PeerForm is a peer-to-peer lending program that allows people with bad credit to get loans for medical expenses, moving costs, bill consolidation, etc. It is a good alternative for people who might have trouble getting small loans from traditional lending institutions. The good thing about PeerForm is that, if they cannot approve you for a loan, they refer you to one of their partners with whom you might have better luck.
5. PayPal Working Capital/Kabbage
Both of these lenders offer loans based on the amount of money you earn each month via your PayPal account (PayPal Working Capital) or a variety of sources like PayPal, direct deposit, Square, etc (Kabbage). The great thing about these loans is that they don’t even check your credit score or history. They base the amount for which you qualify on how much you earn. And, with PayPal Working Capital, the payments come out of payments you receive in your account. You can automatically deduct a certain percentage of each payment you receive and have that put toward your loan balance.
6. CrowdFunding
While more of a grant than a loan, if you are in a pinch, setting up an account on IndieGoGo, GoFundMe, etc and asking people to donate toward your needs can be a great way to raise the money you need for rent, repairs, medical expenses, emergencies, etc. These companies take a percentage of what you bring in as payment. The rest of the money is yours to use as you need. And, unlike crowdfunding sites like KickStarter, you aren’t obligated to reach your fundraising goal or provide a product or service at the end of the campaign.
7. Patreon
While not technically a loan program, Patreon is fantastic for people who are creators and who need help funding their projects (and the lives that they live around those projects). Creators can set up their account to charge subscribers (or Patrons) per project completed or per month, whichever works better for their particular project.
As you can see there are many programs out there that are built to help you get the funding you need. Some are straightforward loans, others are peer-based but one way or another, if you keep trying, you will get the money you need.
